Unlocking Material Behavior: A Workshop on Advanced Characterization

Dr. Aleksandra Mitrovic has a background in biochemistry, which she earned at the University of Sciences in Novi Sad, Serbia. She completed her Ph.D. in Molecular Biotechnology from Graz University of Technology and subsequently worked in the field of applied biocatalysis through various industrial projects. In 2017, Aleksandra joined Anton Paar as a global Product Manager for laser diffraction, where she has accumulated 8 years of experience and continues to deepen her expertise in this specialized field.

Dr. Brian Rodenhausen is the Principal Application Scientist in the Particle and Porous Materials Characterization group at Anton Paar USA. He has over a decade of experience teaching users the theory and practice of analytical instruments, as well as advising them on the design of experiments and interpretation of results. His research background focused on label-free characterization of asorbate layers at the solid-liquid interface. He received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and did post-doctoral work at UNL and the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research in Dresden, Germany. 

Alice Thwin is Anton Paar's subject matter expert for powder X-ray Diffraction (XRD)and Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) techniques. The experience she has gained through her career now includes consulting with customers to customize their ideal configuration to support short term and long-term goals with Anton Paar XRD and SAXS instruments.

Alice is involved in the ACA, structural society, and Minds Matter Seattle to support the inclusion of all interested in the STEM roles.

Parth Kotak is the Lead Scientist for Mechanical Surface Characterization at Anton Paar. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Iowa. His research was primarily focused on characterizing and modeling artificial muscles for soft robotics applications. His expertise lies in surface characterization techniques such as nanoindentation and tribology to determine complex material behavior. 

Yaroslav Wroczynskyj is an application scientist for Particle and Materials Characterization at Anton Paar. He earned an MSc in physics from the University of Manitoba studying transition metal oxide nanoparticles, with particular focus on the particle-solvent interface in liquid suspension having built custom instrumentation to measure particle electrophoretic mobilities. He has expertise in particle and materials characterization including x-ray and light scattering techniques, magnetometry and thermal analysis. 

Paniz Rahmani is a Technical Sales Consultant at Anton Paar USA for the thermal analysis product line. Her expertise spans analytical instrumentation, molecular diagnostics, and advanced materials characterization. She brings more than a decade of scientific and industry experience and holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry, with research focused on nanobiotechnology, surface chemistry, and biomolecular systems. Her background includes extensive hands-on experience in R&D for next-generation sequencing technologies, as well as method development, quality control, and technical sales for advanced analytical platform.